Avengers’ strongest hero reveals a secret power after 59 years, but it actually makes sense

In a clever reveal, Marvel just confirmed that one of the greatest Avengers Of all time has a secret power he has been keeping under wraps until now. In fact, because of the logic behind the power, Multiple Avengers must logically possess it, despite the fact that none of the rest of Earth’s mightiest heroes knew about it until now.

In Steve Orlando and Corey Smith Avengers Assemble #1Captain America’s new roster awaits direction at Avengers Mansion. To kill the time, the team play a game of poker, just for Hercules To discover he can always tell when the other heroes are bluffing. When questioned, it is revealed that Hercules’ omnispeak power – which allows him to understand and be understood in every language on Earth and beyond – includes body language, meaning He can tell when mortals lie.

The Allspeak is a long-established power possessed by all of Marvel’s gods and several other supernatural beings, suggesting that heroes including Hercules, Man-Thing and Ares all have the same lie-detecting ability. But if they are something like Hercules, they simply never realized that the mortals in their lives do not know it.

Hercules’ divine all-talk turns him into a superhuman lie detector

Thor shares the same power, but he has never admitted it

Running alongside Marvel’s main line Avengers Title, the new Avengers Assemble series brings together a more traditional team, including A-list heroes like Captain America and Hawkeye, former Avengers like Hercules and Wonder Man, and left-field choices like Power Pack graduate Lightspeed and tech genius Night Thrasher.

Steve Rogers’ new team is intended as an emergency response team, flying across the globe to tackle emergencies that need the attention of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. With the return of loyal butler Jarvis, Avengers Mansion, and a mix of very different heroes, there is a return to many of the elements that defined the Avengers franchise in the past.

However, despite the classic elements, there is apparently still a lot for this team to learn about each other – including themselves Hercules’ ability to distinguish between lies and truth with his complete understanding of body language. Marvel’s Allspeak has long been used to paper over the cracks of bringing mythology into the world of superheroes—after all, why would godlike beings speak any one language? Conversely, how would beings who only visited Earth millennia ago understand modern vernacular?

The issue doesn’t dig too deep into Hercules’ new power, and It is likely that its lie detector status has its weaknesses. In the very specific, contextual case of telling in a poker game, it makes sense that Hercules would be so accurate that he essentially Always Knows when his fellow players are lying. However, in the more complex setting of real life, it makes sense that Hercules would sometimes miss the telling (to him) signs of dishonesty. Of course, even if Hercules lacks the signs SometimesThere is another revelation that his godly powers include lie detection.

Hercules’ new power actually has precedent in Marvel canon

X-Men’s Cypher redefined what ‘language’ means in Marvel Lore

While the other Avengers are clearly shocked by Hercules’ admission, there is a precedent for translation powers applied to things other than spoken language. X-Men’s Cypher has the mutant power to understand any language, and in the past this has translated to body language and even computer code. Indeed, when he was controlled by Selene, Cypher’s understanding of body language was so specific, he was able to predict the action moves of all his teammates before they even made a move. And if a mutant translation power can apply in this way, then a divine power certainly can.

Wonder Woman would hate Hercules’ new power

The DC hero would never accept sharing her iconic power with Hercules

One hero who would Hate Hercules’ new power is DC’s Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston and HG Peters, with the former being a pioneer involved in the invention of the polygraph machine, aka a lie detector. Marston’s interest in discerning the truth made it into Wonder Woman lore with the inclusion of her ‘Golden Perfect’, aka the Lasso of Truth. No matter who they are, everyone who comes in contact with the lasso of truth can only speak the truth (Like Hercules’ all-talk, the lasso can also translate any language as it is spoken.) Of course, Another aspect of Wonder Woman’s study is Hercules himself.

In DC lore, Hercules is the ancient enemy of the Amazons, with multiple versions of his continuity stating that Hercules’ army subjugated the Amazons and Hercules raped Wonder Woman’s mother Hippolyta. This caused a major misunderstanding between Kurt Busiek and George Pérez JLA / AvengersWhere Wonder Woman meets Hercules and confronts him, despite the fact that in Marvel continuity, Hercules and Hippolyta have a consensual relationship. While the Avengers and Justice League of America eventually allied in this story, Marvel’s Hercules was still never likely to become Wonder Woman’s favorite person.

Wonder Woman and Hercules sharing the incredibly specific power of lie detection/language translation is no coincidence. Their comic lore is connected to Greek myth, and indeed Both are even related to Aletheia, the goddess of truth (Both are her half-brothers.)

Will Hercules’ New Power Exist in the MCU?

Brett Goldstein’s demi-god would benefit from some unique powers

Hercules’ new/apparently old power is even more significant as the MCU just introduced its own version of Marvel’s ‘God of Heroes’ played by Brett Goldstein in Thor: Love and Thunder. While this version of Hercules was introduced as an antagonist of Thor, pursuing him for his slander of Zeus during the movie, Hercules was also introduced as a rival of Thor in the comics, but quickly became one of his most loyal and dedicated allies, while also serving as an Avenger in good standing.

It is particularly noteworthy that Hercules’ lie detection is not Technically A new power, but rather a new application of a power fans have known about for a long time. This makes it more likely that the MCU could include the abilityGive Hercules a crucial unique superpower in movie lore. One of Hercules’ biggest weaknesses as a character is that he has no truly unique abilities – he is incredibly strong and durable, but on the same level as Hulk and Thor, who both have many additional powers. Avengers Assemble‘s revelation that he’s also a master body language expert helps make the character feel more unique, and the MCU could benefit from taking notes on how to make Hercules‘ Pious behavior feels special as it continues to flesh out the character.

Avengers Assemble #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.